The accomplishments of three Engineering research faculty were recognized this spring at the University’s annual Honor the Best celebration May 14.
Hamed Ebrahamian: Jason Geddes Rising Researcher Award
Hamed Ebrahamian, an assistant professor in the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering (CEE), was honored with the Jason Geddes Rising Researcher Award at the Nevada System of Higher Education Board of Regents meeting on Feb 29, 2024.
Named after former regent Jason Geddes in commemoration of his service and dedication to higher education in Nevada, the Jason Geddes Rising Research Award is given annually to two faculty members in Nevada who have demonstrated a distinguished record in research.
Ebrahamian, who came to the University of Nevada, Reno from the Bay Area, where he worked as a senior consulting engineer and researcher in the private sector, has a Ph.D. in structural engineering from the University of San Diego and two master’s degrees, in mechanical engineering and structural engineering.
Ebrahamian’s research includes topics such as wildfire engineering, disaster management, computational structural mechanics, and large-scale structural experiment and behavior studies.
Krishna Pagilla, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Outstanding Researcher, STEM
The Research & Innovation selection committee met in March and unanimously chose Krishna Pagilla as the 2024 recipient of the Outstanding Researcher Award in STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics).
The committee cited Pagilla’s “prolific and impressive record of over 130 peer-review publications in the discipline of water science and technology.” They noted that Pagilla has raised nearly $10 million dollars in grants since his appointment in 2015.
Pagilla came to the University from the Illinois Institute of Technology, where he taught for 20 years. He is the CEE chair as well as the founding director of the Nevada Water Innovation Institute.
Pagilla’s numerous research projects have included the impact of wastewater treatment facilities on greenhouse gas emissions and the surveillance and study of COVID-19 virus mutations in wastewater, which allowed local governments to more efficiently monitor virus levels when human monitoring was still limited.
“Dr. Pagilla has been able to achieve excellence in research and productivity,” CEE professor Ian Buckle, who nominated Pagilla said, “while being an able administrator, dedicated volunteer, and an outstanding educator.”
Alireza Tavakkoli: University of Nevada, Reno Foundation Innovation Award
Alireza Tavakkoli, an associate professor of Computer Science & Engineering (CSE), was honored with the Foundation Innovation Award for 2024 from the University’s Research & Innovation enterprise.
Tavakkoli was nominated by CSE department chair Eelke Folmer, who cited Tavakkoli’s extraordinary accomplishments in the field, including two National Science Foundation Innovation Corps awards ($100,000), three patents and two potential commercial ventures with whom the University’s technology transfer currently is negotiating terms of licensing.
“Alireza has always been at the forefront of emerging trends and technologies,” Folmer said. “And he has consistently demonstrated his ability to turn his ideas into reality. He has a deep understanding of the challenges facing the healthcare industry, and a unique ability to develop creative and effective solutions to address them.”
Research & Innovation annually presents two Foundation Innovation Awards to new and established University faculty and staff to recognize their contribution(s) to innovation, and/or for the commercialization of ideas that impact and benefit the public’s well-being. For these awards, innovation comprises all forms of discovery, creation and production of inventive and progressive ideas, methods, and products that promote society’s growth.
